Commerce Department, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 11 to the Fishery Management Plan for Coral, Coral Reefs, and Live/Hardbottom Habitats of the South Atlantic (Coral FMP) and Amendment 12 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Shrimp FMP; jointly Amendments 11/12) for review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. If approved, Amendments 11/12 would establish a shrimp fishery access area (SFAA) along the eastern boundary of the northern extension of the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (OHAPC) where trawling for rock shrimp is currently prohibited. The purpose of Amendments 11/12 is to reinstate access to historic rock shrimp fishing grounds, achieve optimum yield (OY) in the rock shrimp fishery, while minimizing impacts to deep-water corals in the OHAPC.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 622 RIN 0648-BN92 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Announcement of availability of fishery management plan amendments; request for comments. SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 11 to the Fishery Management Plan for Coral, Coral Reefs, and Live/Hardbottom Habitats of the South Atlantic (Coral FMP) and Amendment 12 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Shrimp FMP; jointly Amendments 11/12) for review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. If approved, Amendments 11/12 would establish a shrimp fishery access area (SFAA) along the eastern boundary of the northern extension of the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (OHAPC) where trawling for rock shrimp is currently prohibited. The purpose of Amendments 11/12 is to reinstate access to historic rock shrimp fishing grounds, achieve optimum yield (OY) in the rock shrimp fishery, while minimizing impacts to deep-water corals in the OHAPC. DATES: Written comments on Amendments 11/12 must be received on or before November 17, 2026. ADDRESSES: A plain language summary of Amendments 11/12 is available at https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​NOAA-NMFS-2026-1750 . You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2026-1750, by eithe…
Citation: 91 FR 59098
